Decorative Arts Council Annual Lecture: When America Went Modern: Design in the 1920s and 1930s, presented by John Stuart Gordon

John Stuart Gordon (Benjamin Attmore Hewitt Associate Curator of American Decorative Arts at the Yale University Art Gallery) will explore the varied influences and myths surrounding the appearance of modern decorative arts during the Jazz Age and the popularization of the style during the Depression. Although skeptical of modernism at first, American manufacturers and craftsmen eagerly embraced the new style and applied it to furniture, housewares, textiles, silver, and glass. For many Americans, the idea of “going modern” meant more than simply buying objects in the latest style but implied adopting a new worldview. As a result, modern design became tied to social and cultural issues, such as Prohibition, and celebrated innovations in architecture, transportation, and new materials.

Free for Decorative Arts Council members, $15 for CMCH members, $25 for non-members. Please RSVP to let us know you will attend at (860) 236-5621 x238 or rsvp@chs.org.